X-Men '97 (Disney+)

I thought it was pretty good. But I also want you to keep in mind I found the original series deeply flawed. So I like that the tone felt similar. But I was a bit underwhelmed by the story. But I often was on the old show too so I won't raise too big a fuss.

The ending was a good hook, but I suspect Magneto is twisting the knife because he's a jerk, not because he's evil. That was never really his deal on the old show. Calling Charles a fool is more likely a term of endearment than an actual disparagement.

I love that the main title is a tribute to the original series with Morph and Bishop added to the roster. End credits recalling Season 1 are pretty cool too.

Promising opener. 4 stars.

If they take Storm out of the main title next week I'm gonna be pissed. Loved seeing Magneto there this week though.

They REALLY leaned into the January 6 parallels but X-Men has always been a very political story. The Saturday Morning nature of the old show muted that a bit but it makes sense with fewer restrictions the allegories will feel more current and real-world credible.

And I love that Cooper actually is freaked out by what happened to Storm and insists to Magneto she didn't want it to happen. Bet that bit of real regret is the actual thing that tells Magneto to honor his promise to Charles, despite every fiber of his being crying out for vengeance instead.

First time this incarnation of the franchise has acknowledge Magneto is a Holocaust survivor.

One of the strengths of the old show was that it discussed philosophy and the debates of forward thinking and hatred. I like that this show is very much leaning into that.

Cautiously optimistic. There were a couple of good debut episodes. 4 1/2 stars.

Honestly, a little too dark for my tastes. It was a bit much.

I'm glad Storm is going to get her powers back but I don't like that she isn't currently in the main title.

The animation in Magneto's fight was really good.

I don't care if it was in the comics, the Goblin Queen thing is stupid because it comes out of nowhere in the episode and series itself.

I kind of resent the idea that Nate has to be taken away the very episode AFTER he's born. There's something about that that strikes me as unnecessarily cruel, especially because Scott and Jean raise him in the future themselves in the comics.

Sigh. Not as good as the first two episodes. 3 stars.

Motendo:

Mojovision was one of the best episodes of the original series. But it occurred after the show had already been firmly established. Certainly not in Season 1. The relaunch doing this in Episode 4 is kind of cool and brave. And I feel like the story is fun in a way not enough of the relaunch has been. I miss Jubilee and that the old show was essentially from her perspective. I liked getting back to that.

Good way to bring back Alyson Court too. Well played.

Cool episode. 4 1/2 stars.

Lifedeath, Part 1:

I did not care for this. Not just because the reality was not quantifiable (which is not a good choice for a cliffhanger ending) but I also felt Storm's reactions to Forge having worked for the government were, um... THEATRICAL, if you get me. And I get that this show is set in 1997. But it's not being MADE in 1997, you know. Just because it's a superhero cartoon doesn't mean there needs to be this level of irrationality to character like Storm. Considering what's at stake, Hearing Him Out is not an unreasonable expectation for Forge to have from her.

Storm's hamminess simply does not translate well in 2024. And yet if she didn't have it, she wouldn't be the same Storm from the old show. I guess I wish the show were able to navigate her big personality and somehow make it relatable to modern audiences. I understand that might be hard. But I don't think it's impossible. And I'm disappointed the series was unable to navigate it for this episode. Maybe if it were worse, I wouldn't be. But Jubilee's dialogue has been punched up for modern audiences. No reason that couldn't have happened for Storm.

Although him being "in love" with her seems a bit... what's the word? Oh yes. INSANE. Just while we're keeping track of cartoon cliches.

Not great,. 2 stars.

Episode Overall: 3 1/2 stars.

I didn't entirely dislike it. But I MOSTLY disliked it.

Say what you will about Saturday Morning Cartoons. They never would have killed off Magneto and Gambit. And yes, they had lower stakes. But the thing is the action felt high-stakes BEFORE they did that, which tells me they didn't need to.

I think something funky is going on on Genosha if Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost are on the head council.

I thought the shipping stuff was mostly dreadful. But I tend to be alone in that viewpoint, so I'll sit in the corner by myself and stew. But I want more cartoon action, less mushy soap opera theatrics.

I did like Logan pulling away from the kiss. Struck me as pretty gallant, and an evolution from how he used to be on the old show.

Honestly, Jean's disgust at Scott's confusion is a bit maddening. And Madelyn may be a clone, but it doesn't register with Jean that she's an actual person. She is not some discarded toenail, no matter she thinks. Scott reaching out to her makes sense. What doesn't make sense is it's been happening for a month before Jean found out. Is she a psychic or not?

Kurt is a helluva a lot more fun when he isn't preaching like he did on the old show. Modern animation techniques make his powers more fun too.

The old show was not perfect. The human moments in this show feel far more credible. And yet for some reason I feel like this show is rejecting why I loved the old show begin with. I don't feel like this interpretation is quite right, which sets me aside from most fans who love it. And in fairness I did like the first couple of episodes. But I mostly didn't like this week and I feel like it demonstrates the new iteration's major weakness. Yeah, no Saturday Morning restrictions. But on some level I believe those restrictions made superhero cartoons in the 1990's and 2000's better. They actually had to find real dramatic stakes other than killing off a bunch of characters and then bringing them back to life. I find the comics intolerable because of that and the kids cartoons watchable because they don't have that or the miserable soap opera.

I'm having the same misgivings Young Justice's third season gave me, and I wound up disliking that and the fourth season, and ultimately the entire show. I don't want that to happen to X-Men TAS. But if it keeps doing stuff like this, it might. 2 stars.

I promised a huge deep-dive this week, and I can't give it. Because the show did a bait and switch and didn't air the fall-out from last week. I can't go deep into the flaws of the show, and discuss how the Genosha arc is going wrong when they hold off the fall-out. Sorry.

Ironically, this episode itself is a'ight. I thought the Xavier stuff was a little stupid, but I dug the Storm stuff because the Adversary is frightening. I don't find enough of Western animation legit frightening. Much of it is bloody, and disturbing, but it doesn't tend to spook me. This was legit scary, and a good voice performance from Storm's actress too. I never would have guessed she had that in her based on the old show.

Sinister is Sinister. It's in the name, dummy!

I liked the episode. I'll give it a solid grade. But I'm a little annoyed I cannot give the arc the tongue-lashing it deserves, and that I promised. Yet. But hey, Nightcrawler is in the theme song now! 4 stars.

I promised a VERY negative in-depth review this week, and I will not break my promise. However the episode provided me with a unique challenge in doing so. That was the best episode so far. Five Star quality, which will be reflected in the final grade. I expected to tell you what I would have done differently (and I assumed my idea would have been better than the fall-out) but their fall-out was excellent as well.

My major complaint about the Genosha episode was killing off Gambit and Magneto. Obviously Magneto is still alive. But I said to myself if this episode STARTED with Gambit waking up in Rogue's arms and saying "Scared you, didn't I, cher?" and two minutes later Magneto popped out of a time portal with Cable with Leech and said "I will make them pay for this!" I would have been annoyed, but been like, "I'll allow it." I was 50/50 on Magneto being dead anyways, but I would have been fine with a false death ending and understand that's the price of doing business in genre.

Here is where my negativity comes in. Killing off Gambit made that episode shocking. But it makes the show worse. Even if it's not permanent. ESPECIALLY if it's not permanent. Both scenarios are no-win for the show whether this episode was excellent or not.

Let's assume it's permanent first. That was episode five. We had the opportunity to explore a sophisticated relationship with Rogue and Gambit without Saturday morning restrictions or the network saying "10 year old boys don't like the mushy stuff," (which would be a true note by the way). And we only had that dynamic for five episodes and outside of the last one, it was barely broached at all. The short 10 episode count worked against one of the major selling points of bringing the show back for all ages instead of just kids. Gone. Poof. The show is worse. Permanently.

Let's assume it's temporary next. This scenario would actually be worse. Let's assume Sentinel Trask infects Gambit's body with the virus and Gambit is one of the Big Bads of the season, and the victory is bring him back to life. This is the nightmare scenario for the long-term health of the show, even though as of now it's what we probably most want. If they buy back Gambit's death, that means anytime a character dies on the show for real we'll be looking for escape hatches. We won't trust what the show is showing us. Then major dramatic deaths will not ever land or be as impactful as they should be or need to be. The dramatic tension of the show is gutted forever, whether I am relieved Gambit is back or not. The show is worse. Permanently.

What would I have done differently? I don't exactly object to what happened on Genosha. I explore dark themes in my own work (yes, including genocide). But I would have Gambit put into triage at the beginning of this episode and Rogue feeling hopeless because she couldn't feel him at the end of the last episode. And after a few agonizing minutes (which the non-Saturday morning restrictions would allow me to get delightfully and alarmingly bloody with) and dramatic pauses, Gambit is stabilized to the What The Effedness of Rogue and everyone else. They're happy he's okay, mind, but WHAAA??

Rogue is visiting him in the hospital and while he's weakened they sadly reconnect and take the toll of the dead and it sucks. While they are there Gambit impulsively touches Rogue's face as she pulls back in horror. But nothing happens. The What The Effedness continues and Rogue tentatively touches Gambit's skin and they both realize his connection to Mastermold's blow-out immunized himself to Rogue's touch. The 'ship is on, baby!

If I had written this episode I would not have punished the characters or the audience, I would have given both their wildest dream. Does that sound less dramatic? It's not. It opens up new, wonderful avenues of drama. Both believe Magneto is dead so there is guilt and trepidation on Rogue's end. And the genocide has still devastated them and the other X-Men, so there is built-in guilt and regret that their new lives are just beginning and they are feeling sickeningly happy while everyone else is suffering. Worse, both worry this is on a clock and not permanent especially after they finally deal with the threat of this Bastion cat. I'd make it permanent myself but I'd make it a tension and a worry.

Is this idea better or worse than what we got? I think in hindsight what we got was better for this specific episode (although there were still major problems) but my idea would have been better for the long-term health of the show. Feel free to disagree.

Before getting to the good in the episode (and there was plenty) let's go through the rest of the bad.

I have spoken up elsewhere I don't like the swearing. And yeah, while I was half-kidding about making Gambit's triage bloody I don't like the show losing THAT many of the Saturday morning restrictions. The hecks and darns of the old show are corny, but established. It's part of what the Universe is and it fits. TV-14 stuff does not, is jarring, takes me out of it, reminds me the show is fiction, (and trying to cynically appeal to adults). This complaint can be leveled at the returns of Batman And Harley Quinn, Justice League Vs. The Fatal Five, Young Justice, and Samurai Jack too, so it's not like this is the sole failing of this show.

And that's another thing about fake-out deaths and the potential that Gambit coming back to life is possible, thereby gutting real dramatic tension, and making the audience mistrust the writers, and not believe what they are seeing: They effect MOST dramas. It's a problem for MOST TV shows and why I believe most TV shows suck. It's not just this show. The problem is so widespread nobody understands how damaging it is. I don't even think the audience themselves understand how damaging it is. They simply accept it as normal and it is an expected trope. But making a viewer cynical in viewing your work is a failing. It's breaking trust and means you can never actually deliver moments of pure magic. As a writer, for me? Pure magic and connection is what it's all about. The idea that most writers thinking screwing around the viewer is fine is bad enough. The fact that most viewers have conditioned themselves to believe it's okay too is far more depressing to me.

Why aren't any of the X-Men grieving Magneto or holding a funeral for him? He WAS their leader.

No new images in the theme song this week. Feel kind of ripped off about it.

Finally, Rogue tossing Trask out the window is a big dramatic moment. Or it would have been if they hadn't immediately bought it back. I love that it's Morph voicing the outrage, but what bugs me about Trask's second life and Rogue being let off the hook for his murder is if he had simply jumped himself, Sentinel Trask still would have been activated anyways. There is no need to give Rogue that dark moment at ALL other than to screw around the viewer.

That is my in-depth negative review for this five star episode. But since I've giving it five stars I'd better detail what I like first. More Marvel connections including Captain America, General Ross, and Hulk shout-out. Morph actually drinks the diet soda. Emma Frost is given is her diamond powers. Magneto reveal at the end as Bastion creepily shaves him to the already weird song Purple People Eater. Seriously cannot overstate how ick that is. The sleek animation on Rogue going nuts in the fight scenes. More esoteric Beast quotes including a famous and beloved one from Mister Rogers. Kurt's wonderful eulogy for Gambit.

And somebody elsewhere complained that the Sinister reveal last week was less dramatic than it would have been if he hadn't already appeared this season. I think the fact that he's working for someone else (Bastion) negates that complaint.

So yeah, that's me totally dunking on this show, and why I hate it, it's awful, it's no good, and it's failing you and America. Final grade: 5 stars.